I've been a Cherry Poppin Daddies fan for the past few years and have written a few articles on them for a local entertainment venue newsletter. I became interested in swing by seeing bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Royal Crown Revue play locally. I also took lindy-hop lessons and am currently working on a story on the lindy revival for a magazine class.

We had difficulties trying to get an interview with the Daddies. They didn't call when they were supposed to. The second time we had to call their publicity agent in New York to track them down. This was because of their hectic touring schedule. I'll never forget lugging that state-of-the-art phone equipment back and forth from the journalism school for the interviews.

I was surprised to find out just how trend-oriented the whole music industry is and how difficult it is for bands to control their image once they break into the mainstream.

Kevin Coughlin is writing a nonfiction book on McCarthy, the murders, and the area's recovery. He has spent two of the last three summers in Alaska.

My first exposure to Cornel West was an interview he did with Charlie Rose on PBS. I was so taken by his passion and powerful, articulate, holistic philosophy that I immediately wanted to know more about the man. I picked up several of his books, including Race Matters, and my respect for him increased tenfold.

It was just chance that Dr. West was coming to the University of Oregon to speak around this time. So when I found out, I immediately called around--his Harvard offices, his book publisher, his agent--until I found someone who was handling his scheduling. She told me that West wasn't scheduling interviews because of his breakneck touring schedule. However, she admitted that if I caught West at the end of his speech, he likes to talk.

With the help of Holly Campbell in the Humanities Department, I was able to get a letter of intent to him as he traveled from the airport to his speech. After the speech, I watched him hug people, smile, talk and sign books for almost four hours until I introduced myself. He thanked me for my interest, but he said he wasn't sure he had time. I told him that I would meet him anytime, anywhere if he could just spare me 15 minutes.

"Well, brother Rob," he said, "why don't you see me tomorrow after lunch?"

I followed him around the next day, only to pull him aside minutes before he was to drive to Salem. To avoid a crowd of admirers and allow him to rest, we went to my office in the EMU, where many of the color photos were taken. Although tired and hungry, West answered every one of my questions and talked with me for almost thirty minutes. After the interview, he gave me his phone number, hugged me, and told me to call if I needed anything else.

Laura Esterman is a graduate student from New York. She met Patricia, Gina, and Pedro in the summer of 1997. She is currently writing a book about their experiences entering and living in this country.

A published writer often focusing his stories on outdoor aspects, Jeff's enthusiasm for the outdoors didn't spawn from his childhood. Born and raised in Calgary, Canada, he said he didn't realize what the outdoors had to offer until his adult years.

He came upon the West Coast Trail two years ago, when he initially wrote the story. "I've traveled a lot and can honestly say it's one of my favorite places in the world," he said. "I'd be completely content living in a small shanty on the West Coast Trail for the rest of my life. But, of course, then I'd be contributing to the problem."

I didn't intend to write about acupuncture. I was actually looking for information on musical therapy for kids. I just stumbled upon acupuncture while searching the Web.

I became intrigued by the profession when I learned it had been accredited by the National Institutes of Health. During an interview with a Eugene, Oregon acupuncturist, he offered to give me a free sample, but I refused.

When I was at an interview I could hear a patient in a nearby room who was hooked up to a machine that sends electronic shocks into a person. The buzzing sound was kind of creepy.

Pamela loves to meet interesting people, so when she was asked to write a story about Clarebeth, she enthusiastically agreed. "Clarebeth inspired me, but I don't know about that whole 'best orgasm in the world' statement. Yikes!"

In addition to collaborating with Kara Barrett for the article on the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and swing, Kaarin worked as one of Flux's senior editors. Knudson is also an All-American runner for the Ducks' track and field team, but she spent most of this past spring running in circles for Flux.

She doesn't know how to swing dance, but she'd really like to learn.

My interest in the story developed after attending a lecture given by Lani Kaahumanu in a local bookstore in the spring of 1997. Kaahumanu read a poem mocking all the bisexual stereotypes. It was then that I realized that bisexuals face just as much discrimination as gays and lesbians. I bought Kaahumanu's book Bi Any Other Name and have been fascinated with the topic ever since.

Kaahumanu's life story is incredible. She was married to a man for 11 years then came out as a lesbian and became an outspoken lesbian activist. Four years later, she fell in love with a man and accepted her bisexuality. She has done more for the bisexual movement than almost any other activist I've stumbled upon in my research. Her attitude is amazingly optimistic, yet realistic and down to earth. She also has amazing wit.

Alana stumbled upon the spirituality of midwifery after visiting a Florence, Oregon midwife for a gynecology exam. Instead of the formality she usually received from her regular gynecologist, Listoe said the woman created a comfortable atmosphere, having Listoe tell the midwife about Listoe's body instead of the midwife telling Listoe about her body. "This woman made me think she was my friend," she said.

Back in Eugene, Listoe contacted Clarebeth Loprinski Kassel, head of a midwifery clinic. Loprinski Kassel wanted to spread the word about other pregnancy options besides drugs and cesarean sections and agreed to the photoshoot.

The pregnant women in the photographs were easy subjects to work with, Listoe said. "They pretty much asked me 'Should we leave our clothes on?'" Listoe said every woman made it a point to have her feel the babies inside of them.

Since the three photoshoots, every time Listoe runs into Loprinski Kassel she grabs Listoe by the hips and says "Are you pregnant yet?"

Listoe will document the January birth of a friend's baby as her next project.

He started kayaking while living in the Colorado Rockies--a period self-defined as his "formative years" (mid-twenties). If it were possible to kayak full-time in the name of peace and social justice, Dan would be doing just that.

Picha's interest in barber shops started with an interest in how approaches to beauty are almost scientific or clinical, especially with all the hair care products. She found out from her hairstylist that his shears cost him about $800, and he gets them sharpened by a professional who travels around in a van to salons.

"What I wanted to find out was how the barber shop differed from the salon, and then I met Pete Peterson," she said. Peterson rarely lets Picha pass by the Red Rooster without stopping for a chat, she said. "Even though the dynamic in the shop changes when Im there, Pete has always invited me into the male world of his barber shop by talking candidly about it," she said. "One afternoon I was sitting at the far end of the shop taking notes, and the guy next to me, who was waiting for a haircut, asked which one of the boys in the chairs was mine."

"Finding information about the barbering profession was a bit of a challenge. I was shocked to find that the history of the profession hasn't been documented better. It would appear that the barbers' history is more oral than written...."

Allison met Eric, one of the subjects in her story, through Eric's father Joe Henderson, a magazine journalism professor at the University of Oregon. The two met for four one-hour interview sessions, but communication wasn't a problem. She said Eric could read her lips when she asked questions. However, she found e-mail to be useful for follow-up questions.

She was impressed by the oral skills of Shane, one of the subjects in her story who lost his hearing when he was five years old. "His long hair covered up his hearing aids," she said, "and I wouldn't have even known he was deaf, he spoke so well."

She said the hardest part of writing was focusing on the idea of Deaf culture. Her classmates encouraged her to go beyond a story just about American Sign Language.